The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-03/27/2015
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Measuring church planting success
by Kevin Ezell
Date: March 27, 2015 - Friday
EDITOR'S NOTE: Kevin Ezell is president of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- Recently the North American Mission Board shared good news that Southern Baptist church plants were up 5 percent in 2014. We still have a lot of catching up to do because our church planting efforts lost pace with population growth decades ago, but hopefully last year's increase will begin a new trend.
In addition to starting more churches, we must pay close attention to the health of these new congregations. Do they have staying power? Are they reaching people for Christ? Do they give to missions causes? In short, are they having an impact? We cannot and will not sacrifice quality for the sake of quantity.
At NAMB we started monitoring Southern Baptist church plants much more carefully beginning with the Class of 2010. We are continuing to improve this process, but we already know a lot more than we did a few years ago.
As a reminder, the church planting class of 2010 started with 943 church plants. We pull our data from the Annual Church Profile (ACP) so we can make comparisons to the broader report that includes all Southern Baptist churches. The most recent ACP year for which these details are available is 2013, so that's the data we are using.
Survival rate
Of the 943 churches planted in 2010, 757 are still functioning and are identified in the 2013 ACP database, resulting in a survival rate of 80 percent.
Membership
Churches planted in 2010 reported a 7 percent growth in membership from 2012-2013. During the same period, church membership throughout the Southern Baptist Convention declined .86 percent.
Attendance
Worship attendance also continues to increase. The 2010 church plants reported a 20 percent jump in attendance for the reporting year, compared to a 2.21 percent drop across the SBC.
Baptisms
We plant churches so they can reach people for Christ. The Class of 2010 reported one baptism for every 13 members, a ratio of 1:13. Across the SBC the ratio was 1:51.
Giving
The Class of 2010 continues to support missions with their offering dollars. These church plants gave more than $3.3 million to missions in 2013. That's up 12 percent over the previous reporting period. The giving includes the Cooperative Program, Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong offerings.
The good news is not limited to the Class of 2010. Churches planted in 2011 are doing well also. They have a two-year survival rate of 87 percent and saw membership rise 20 percent in the most recent year. Attendance jumped 52 percent, missions giving 47 percent and they had a baptism ratio of 1:14.
These trends give us an encouraging snapshot of how recent church plants are doing. If more established churches come alongside our plants, their chances for success will increase greatly. Please keep these church plants and their pastors in your prayers. Many of them are ministering in difficult areas and your prayers and offerings make a huge difference.
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FROM THE SEMINARIES: Southeastern, Southern, Southwestern
by Staff
Date: March 27, 2015 - Friday
EDITOR'S NOTE: "From the Seminaries" includes news releases of interest from Southern Baptist seminaries.Southeastern collegiate conference: "Go for the glory of God"
WAKE FOREST, N.C. (SEBTS) -- The call to "Go for the glory of God" was sounded at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary's annual collegiate conference at the Wake Forest, N.C., campus.
In addition to SEBTS President Daniel Akin, featured speakers included J.D. Greear, Russell Moore, H.B. Charles Jr. and Tony Merida.
Smaller breakout sessions gave the 600-plus attendees an opportunity to hear other SEBTS professors and local leaders speak on the glory of God in such areas as spiritual formation, suffering, seeking justice and work.
Greear, lead pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, N.C., challenged the collegians to work in a strategic place in America or around the world for the glory of God and His mission.
From Acts 8, Greear reminded that the Holy Spirit is the source of a Christian's strength and power. "The Gospel goes forward faster through laypeople than apostles," he said. "Jesus has a prime spot for you in the starting lineup regardless of what your gifting is." The Gospel will reach the ends of the earth through "ordinary people making disciples everywhere they go."
Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, preached from 1 Peter 2:6-17, challenging the collegians to realize that "every Christian is embedded in the public square" and to use that arena to manifest the glory of God.
"The Gospel is a rock of offense, you cannot get around it," Moore said. "You are going to find many times that simply acknowledging Jesus Christ becomes scandalous."
A panel featuring several of the speakers shared personal insights during the opening night of the Feb. 6-7 conference into what it means to live faithfully for Christ in dating and marriage relationships.
Akin, who spoke on the glory of God in marriage, has been married to his wife Charlotte for nearly 37 years; they have four sons and 11 grandchildren.
Speaking from Ephesians 5:21-33, Akin called for a biblical view of marriage between one man and one woman "equal in essence and made in the image of God."
"Marriage is a great gift from a glorious God that should point the world to Christ and the Gospel," Akin said. "There is nothing like being married and having a godly wife."
Charles, pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., highlighted the glory of God in diversity, drawing from Ephesians 2:14-18.
"Christ didn't Christianize the Jews, or Judaize the Gentiles. He instead created an entirely new race," Charles said.
He called the collegians to replace hate with kindness -- and not follow a plan for racial reconciliation but to follow the person of Jesus Christ. "The unity of the church is rooted in the unity of the Godhead," he said.
"Jesus Christ is the only One who can bring peace with God, with self and with others," Charles said. "To find peace, you must run to the cross and repent of your sins. The real issue that separates us is sin."
Merida, pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, N.C., and an associate professor of preaching at SEBTS, preached on the glory of God in ordinary people, with a focus on Acts 1-2.
"The ordinary people of God, empowered by the Spirit of God, armed with the Word of God, can accomplish the mission of God," Merida said. "The only thing that separates Christians from non-Christians is God's grace."
Merida encouraged the collegians to learn and love the Bible to be effective disciple-makers. "God saves people by sharing the Gospel through ordinary people. Do you believe this?" Merida asked. "You might be surprised who says yes when you preach the Gospel."
To watch messages from the conference online, click here. To view photos, click here.
Adapt evangelism to a hostile culture, seminary presidents say
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (SBTS) -- An increasingly secularized American culture sees evangelism based on the Gospel's exclusivity as a threat, two seminary presidents commented in panel discussion at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
SBTS President R. Albert Mohler Jr. and Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina, spoke as part of Southern's weeklong Great Commission Focus in February.
"In the eyes of many, a belief in the particularity of the Gospel is a threat to world peace," Mohler said.
Mohler specifically referenced the National Prayer Breakfast several days earlier, when President Obama said religions that claim to be the only way to God are dangerous. Mohler mentioned that Slate.com national correspondent, agreeing with Obama, wrote that Islamic terrorists and exclusivist evangelicals are in the same category.
In this changing culture, Mohler noted two questions he previously found useful in starting Gospel conversations. Drawing from Evangelism Explosion, a ministry that teaches people to share their faith, he had asked: "Do you know for sure that you are going to be with God in heaven?" and "If God were to ask you, 'Why should I let you into my heaven?' what would you say?"
Such questions, however, no longer work because people no longer fear hell, Mohler said. Now he asks, "What are you living for?" and "How is that working for you?" People usually give an answer, whereas they often reject someone who tries to talk directly about spiritual things.
Akin, who formerly served as Southern's dean of the school of theology and vice president of academic administration, said the Gospel has always been scandalous but "in this day and age, it's becoming a hostile scandal."
Christians should expect opposition not only on gender issues but also to the Gospel itself, Akin said, but they must not let fear of rejection stop their evangelism. After all, he said, Christians are not ultimately the ones being rejected.
Mohler concurred with Akin's assessment and said, "If we present Christ, then it's Christ who is either seized upon as the Savior or who is rejected."
The presidents also discussed how much people must understand about Christ to be saved. Akin said someone must understand that Jesus lived a sinless life, died in our place and rose from the dead, while Mohler added that a person also must grasp the divinity and lordship of Christ. Though Christ is the heart of the message, both speakers said that failure to understand sin is what prevents most people in this culture from believing the Gospel.
"If sins are the problem, then moralism is the answer. If sin is the problem, then only Christ is the answer," said Mohler, who said he knew about Jesus growing up but did not feel the weight of his sin condition until he was 10 years old. He realized then that he did not just commit sins but that he was a sinner.
Akin and Mohler said Christians must consider the context of the person they are evangelizing and remember that the Gospel is counterintuitive. As Romans 10 says, people must hear it before they can respond.
Mohler said, "The glad responsibility of every single believer, if faithful, is to share the Gospel because the idea of a non-evangelistic disciple is just not found in Scripture."
Proclaiming this message takes practice, said both leaders.
Learning a basic outline of the Gospel helped him not forget any of the components, Mohler said, while Akin recalled a man teaching him to use the Romans Road, a method of explaining the Gospel using only verses from the book of Romans. Mohler learned how to start a conversation and steer it to the Gospel by witnessing with a partner.
Finally, Mohler and Akin encouraged believers to evangelize without fear because it is the Christian's responsibility to be faithful and it is God's responsibility to save.
"It's the Word of God that He blesses, not our presentation of it," Akin said.
In its annual Great Commission Focus, Southern devotes a week to promoting missions and evangelism and sending students to share the Gospel in the city of Louisville.
Patterson exhorts Brazilians to return to Word of God
Paige Patterson, as a guest speaker at the Brazilian Baptist Convention's annual meeting, preached from the personal Bible of missionary William Buck Bagby, one of the six founders of Brazil's first Baptist church. This "Bagby Bible" is the same copy of God's Word that Bagby had in his pocket when he first arrived in Brazil in 1881 and from which he subsequently preached his first sermons in the country.
Brent Ray, director of Southwestern's Global Theological Innovation, said the Bagby Bible "really connected [with the Brazilian Baptists] because that's their history. That's where it began with a Foreign Mission Board missionary and his little family, fresh off the boat, preaching from an English Bible the good news in broken Portuguese."
Patterson said Brazil is "returning to the faith of Bagby and the early Baptists that spurred the rapid growth of Baptists in that country. Hopefully, our presence and speaking was an encouragement to these noble preachers, missionaries and theologians in their monumental efforts to expand the cause of Christ to all of Brazil and beyond."
Patterson preached from Isaiah 51:1-3, focusing on the imperative in verse 1 to "look to the rock from which you were hewn." He held up the Bagby Bible and said, "This is the rock: the Word of God."
Ray said God used the message in such a way that, at that moment, one could have heard a pin drop. This was followed by a 20-minute invitation in which outgoing convention President Robert Silvado, twice a graduate of Southwestern (master of divinity, 1983; doctor of ministry, 1987), called Brazilian Baptists to do as Patterson had admonished: return to the Word of God, evangelize the lost and plant churches.
"And when he issued a call to prayer," Ray recounted, "people all over the auditorium -- a huge convention center -- stood up from their seats, went out into the aisles, and began to kneel and cry out to God to help them in returning to the Word and getting the Word out to Brazil and beyond. It was short of an evangelistic crusade; truly remarkable; one of the most moving services I've been a part of in a long time."
Patterson, who was in Brazil Feb. 4-12, was accompanied on the trip by a team of Southwesterners including his wife Dorothy and Leo Day, dean of the school of church music, who led worship at the convention. In addition to preaching at the plenary session, Patterson spoke at the convention's pastors' conference, preached an evangelistic sermon at a local church (with more than a dozen responding to the Gospel) and met with various seminary and denominational leaders, several of whom voiced plans to continue their education at Southwestern. The meetings also led to the formation of partnerships between Southwestern and Brazilian seminaries in Belo Horizonte and Recife.
Combined with its existing relationship with the seminary in Rio, the partnerships mean that Southwestern is now connected to the three largest seminaries in Brazil. Ray said the seminaries can now serve as regional anchors for a Brazilian consortium of Baptist theological education through which Southwestern and the Brazilian convention hope to unite the 87 Baptist Bible institutes, colleges and seminaries in Brazil and, within the next two years, expand beyond Brazil to other Portuguese-speaking nations, such as Portugal, Mozambique and Angola.
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Okla. Baptist DR helps tornado victims
by Diana Chandler
Date: March 27, 2015 - Friday
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (BP) -- Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers began preparing meals, clearing debris and repairing damaged homes today (March 27) after tornadoes swept across central and northeastern Oklahoma just two days earlier, killing at least one person.
At least 75 homes were destroyed and several hundred were damaged in the Oklahoma City metro area, Oklahoma disaster relief director Sam Porter told Baptist Press. Still, Oklahomans are resilient and thankful that the storms were not as damaging as those that struck Moore, Okla. and other communities in May, 2013, Porter said, that destroyed 4,035 homes and killed 25.
"The storm itself is not as great a magnitude, but for those that lose their homes or a loved one ... it's major for them. It's very significant for them," Porter said. "If all they've lost is their home, they're thankful no one lost their life. There's a great thankfulness that it wasn't more destructive than what it was."
A 30-member rebuild crew is applying tarps to the damaged rooftops of salvageable houses. The Tulsa Metro Baptist Network has set up two mobile feeding units at Foundation Church in Sapulpa, Okla., and plan to prepare at least 1,200 meals a day for up to three days, Porter said.
"I really think that will grow. They started out with 600 and just in the matter of a couple of hours, they said let's put that at 1,200," Porter said of the meal preparation. "We have chainsaw teams that are working, and there's been a request also, we have a tarp team, putting plastic tarps on top of the houses to stop the roof from leaking until they can get it fixed," Porter said, "and just the general debris clean-up teams."
Trained assessors and chaplains were out determining needs within an hour of tornadoes. More than 50 mobile homes were destroyed in the River Oaks Mobile Home Park in Sand Springs, according to news reports.
The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma's mobile command center is set up at The Church That Matters in Sand Springs, said Dave Karr, BGCO disaster relief state training director.
"Pastor Rusty Gunn has graciously offered us the use of the church's parking lot," said Karr, who initially set up an Oklahoma City-area incident command post at BGCO headquarters. Jim Sheets from Bartlesville was acting as incident commander in Sand Springs.
The state's disaster relief team and in-state volunteers will likely be able to handle the response to storm victims, Porter said, but warned that it's still early in the storm season.
"Our greatest magnitude storms normally happen in May. This is the first tornado to hit this year, and knowing ... the geography of the United States," Porter said, "another one could come next week that's great or greater."
Porter praised Oklahomans for their response to victims, and thanked those who support the Cooperative Program that helps fund such efforts.
"Oklahomans are resilient. The greatest thing that happens is ... the community comes together and they know how to respond," Porter said. "People who were hit two years ago are usually the first to go a mile down the street to help someone who's hit again. Volunteers really lead the charge in this here in this part of the United States."
The BGCO disaster relief operation may receive tax-deductible donations. To learn more, visit www.okdisasterhelp.com/donate.
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CALL TO PRAYER: The tear bottle
by Frank S. Page
Date: March 27, 2015 - Friday
EDITOR'S NOTE: This column by Frank S. Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, is part of his ongoing call to prayer for revival and spiritual awakening for our churches, our nation and our world.
NASHVILLE (BP) -- Over the years, I have hosted many groups in Israel. Often, though not always, the groups I have led have been kind to purchase a gift to present to me near the end of the trip. It is certainly not obligatory, but a generous expression of appreciation. I have been given some beautiful olive wood carvings which I exhibit in my office to this day. I have received other items such as a wonderful, authentic widow's mite coin.
One of the gifts that I received most recently was a lachrymatory or "tear bottle." It is part of a 3,000-year-old tradition where mourners would actually catch tears in a bottle and seal them. Sometimes these tear bottles were placed in the grave of a loved one who passed on. It was a tribute to the family or person to show both love and devotion on the part of those who mourn.
I think this is a precious tradition. Scripture records numerous examples of people mourning one for another, including our Lord Himself. Our own experience reveals the deep friendship that comes when someone mourns with you over a loss in your life.
Psychological counselors distinguish between healthy versus unhealthy grief. Scripture encourages us to grieve, "not as those who have no hope," but to grieve as those whose hope is firmly fixed in the second coming of Jesus. This is healthy grief.
Grief is real. As many of you know, my family is not a stranger to grief. Having lost a daughter, as well as other relatives, my family understands what it is to grieve at many levels. Someone once said that grief is like the waves on the seashore; it never stops. Gratefully it does decrease over time in both frequency and intensity, though it never completely ends.
I want to share a word of encouragement to you today that our Lord Himself knows our struggles and grieves with us. I love the words of 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. In that precious passage, our Lord is described as "the God of all comfort." Isn't that a precious and accurate description of our Lord? He comforts us in our times of trouble.
Psalm 46:1 teaches us that our God is "always found in times of trouble." I am certain that you join with me in desiring a God who is ever present to help in our times of need. We do not want a part-time God, or a God who takes vacations, or a God who sleeps. We want a God who is with us and available at all time. Thankfully He is!
In relation to the tear bottle, look closely at Psalm 56:8. There the Scripture says, "You Yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your records?" This is a precious reminder of God's care and comfort. Just as ancient mourners would catch their tears in a literal bottle, our Lord knows every tear we cry. He is with us as we grieve at every moment.
I urge you to lean upon the Lord. While all human beings will disappoint at some point in time or in some way, our Lord is steadfast and ever present. He knows every emotion that we experience.
Do we not serve a great God? Praise His name!
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ERLC announces 'Gospel for Life' book series
by Staff
Date: March 27, 2015 - Friday
NASHVILLE (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission announced Thursday (March 26) in a news release its plan to publish the "Gospel for Life" book series through a partnership with B&H Publishing Group.
The book series will feature issue-specific volumes from noted Baptist leaders that address hot-button ethical issues facing Christians in today's culture, according to the release. The goal of the series is to produce gospel-centered resources that equip Christians and local churches to engage ethical issues with convictional kindness.
The announcement, the release noted, was made in conjunction with the start of the ERLC's 2015 Leadership Summit on "The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation," March 26-27 in Nashville.
ERLC President Russell Moore and ERLC director of policy studies Andrew Walker will serve as editors for the series.
"Our goal with this series is to help connect the agenda of the gospel to the complex questions of the day in a way that is accessible to and helpful for Christians and churches," Moore said in the release. "I am thrilled to get to partner with this team of talented scholars and pastors to produce these volumes, and we pray the Lord would use them to equip the saints to face the tough questions of 21st century life from a kingdom perspective."
Devin Maddox, Christian living and leadership publisher at B&H Publishing Group, also expressed enthusiasm about the book. "The time has long past for churches to begin preparing to engage a rapidly changing culture," he said in the release. "I couldn't be more excited for B&H to partner with the ERLC in a shared mission to serve churches in this way."
There will be a total of nine books released in the series. The first three books, tentatively scheduled to release in spring 2016, will focus on racial reconciliation, same-sex marriage and religious liberty.
Authors for the first round of books:
-- R. Albert Mohler Jr., president, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
-- John Piper, founder and teacher, DesiringGod.org
-- J.D. Greear, pastor, The Summit Church, Raleigh/Durham (N.C.) area
-- Russell Moore, president, ERLC
-- Trillia Newbell, director of community outreach, ERLC
-- Eric Mason, founder and pastor, Epiphany Fellowship, Philadelphia, Pa.
"The books will be written in an accessible manner for laypersons in the church," the release said, "and will include discussion questions at the end of each chapter to be used for small group discussion."
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ERLC summit: Reconciliation is Gospel imperative
by Tom Strode
Date: March 27, 2015 - Friday
NASHVILLE (BP) -- The Gospel of Jesus is the solution to America's racial divisions, speakers said on the opening day of a Southern Baptist-sponsored leadership summit.
Black, white and Hispanic pastors and leaders addressed the issue of racial reconciliation Thursday (March 26) at the event conducted by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) in Nashville. The summit -– titled "The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation" –- will conclude Friday night.
Longtime civil rights leader John Perkins told the audience of about 500, "I think that we are putting reconciliation back where it belongs -- within the Gospel itself."
People make a "big mistake" in pushing "reconciliation out of the Gospel," out of being a part of conversion that is understood as a Christian is discipled, Perkins said in an interview with ERLC President Russell Moore.
There is "no room in the Gospel that minimizes its power [to reconcile]," he said. "That's supposed to be that ongoing miracle. They will know we are Christians by our love.
"I want to preach a gospel that is stronger than my black interests," said Perkins, founder of the Christian Community Development Association. "I want to preach a gospel that is stronger than my economic interests. I want to preach a gospel that can burn through these racial barriers and bring blacks and whites into the Kingdom."
Perkins, 84, returned in 1960 to his native Mississippi after his conversion to Christ while living in California.
He "went back not looking for the civil rights movement," Perkins said. "It was beginning, but I went back there really believing that the Gospel could burn through racial and cultural barriers and even reconcile us to God."
Probably the best way for racial reconciliation to be addressed from a Gospel perspective, Perkins told attendees, "is to develop multi-cultural churches and be absolutely intentional."
"I don't think we can go back," Perkins said. "I think it's too clear. We held down the truth in order to practice bigotry....
"And if we go back, it's going to be an absolute shame, because it means we didn't live by faith."
Moore sees 'another chance'
Speaking on the second anniversary of his election as ERLC president, Moore said Christians must realize racial reconciliation is about the Gospel.
"The reason that we are here today is that these are not simply cultural issues, although they are. These are not simply political issues, although they are. These are not simply social issues, although they are. Above everything else, these are Gospel issues," Moore said.
"The Gospel is a matter of our adoption as children of God. It's a matter of God ripping us out from one kingdom [and putting us] into another kingdom."
The ERLC announced in December it was changing the theme of its 2015 leadership summit from pro-life ethics to racial reconciliation in the wake of grand jury decisions in the police killings of black men that provoked widespread protests and a nationwide discussion. The shift in plans followed refusals by grand juries in St. Louis County and New York City to indict police officers in the high-profile deaths of African American men.
It appears God is "giving us another chance to get this right, but in order to do that, we must repent, not just rebrand," Moore told the audience.
Moore addressed the Southern Baptist Convention's history, noting this year is the 20th anniversary of the SBC's racial reconciliation resolution. That 1995 statement expressed repentance for the convention's past racism and asked African Americans for forgiveness.
"We baptized the Southern way of life full immersion," Moore said. "That's still here with us, and I'm not just talking about the people whose bedsheets have eye holes.
"We are not the state church of the Confederate States of America. And the cross and the Confederate battle flag cannot coexist without one setting the other on fire."
While there are things worth conserving, Moore said, "If what we are conserving is 1950s Dixie, then we're conserving something other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And we will be fighting God, and we will not win."
Speaking from Ephesians 3:1-13, Moore said the mystery being unveiled in that passage is not only "a Gospel that you hear but a Gospel that you see."
The apostle Paul isn't calling in Ephesians 3 for Jewish churches and Gentile churches, he said.
Paul is saying "the church is a living representation of the Kingdom of God," Moore said. "If you want to know what the Kingdom looks like, you ought to be able to see it within the church. The Kingdom of God is not about coexistence. The Kingdom of God is about reconciliation. And that reconciliation is within the church.
"The problem is that Sunday morning when we are signifying to the rest of the world, 'Here is a picture of the Kingdom of God,' we gather with the same people we would gather with if Jesus Christ were still dead," Moore said.
'Not asking you to like soul music'
Dallas megachurch pastor Tony Evans told summit attendees that the content of the Gospel is the death and resurrection of Jesus, but the Gospel "has more than content. It has scope."
"The Gospel that saves changes how you function, because in saving you, He took the differences and made them part of one body," Evans said. "So when you split the body illegitimately, you have offended the Gospel and you have kicked the truth in the teeth."
Evans, preaching on Jesus' encounter with the woman at Jacob's well in John 4, said Christ reversed 800 years of racial discord between Jews and Samaritans in less than 24 hours. Jesus did not permit the racism of His Jewish disciples to thwart His purpose of converting the woman and other Samaritans to Himself that day, Evans said.
"Jesus didn't stop being who He was to reach someone else. He didn't fake it to make it," he said, but "He was willing to put his Jewish lips to her Samaritan cup."
Evans told the audience, "God wants you to embrace your uniqueness for the purposes of His Kingdom, not to deny it.
"God is not asking you to like soul music, and thank God He is not asking me to like country and western.
"God is not asking you to be me or me to be you. He's just saying both of us need to be like Him," said Evans, senior pastor of Dallas' Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship and president of the national ministry The Urban Alternative.
The church in America has permitted "an illegitimate division that has kept God at bay," Evans said. "God will not function in an environment of disunity, because it is against His nature" as the Trinity.
"[O]ur illegitimate division along racial, class and cultural lines is saying, 'God stay away,' even though we are inviting Him to come."
At the close of the opening message of the summit, Moore invited attendees to the front to pray for racial reconciliation. Most of the audience knelt at the front or in the aisles of LifeWay's Van Ness Auditorium to pray.
Other speakers March 26 were H.B. Charles, pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla.; Robert George, professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University; and Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Panels on the first day discussed the state of racial reconciliation in the country; issues such as justice and urban ministry; and multi-ethnic ministry.
The first ERLC Leadership Summit, held in April 2014, was on the Gospel and sexuality.
The summit's main sessions will continue to be live-streamed tonight at erlc.com.
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'Right in the middle of the store ...'
by Patricia James
Date: March 27, 2015 - Friday
FORT WORTH, TEXAS (BP) -- While straightening the shelves at our LifeWay Christian Store in Fort Worth one day during the winter, I looked up and saw a lady in the Bible section who looked completely lost. I went over to her and asked if I could help.
Asking some additional questions, I learned she wanted a Bible but had never read one before or even been to church. She was starting from square one.
I then began to explain to her what kind of book the Bible is -- a uniquely inspired one -- and why it's so important for us to read it. She seemed receptive.
She said she had looked at some of the student Bibles, but just didn't know which one to get.
So we walked back over to the student Bibles, and I showed her a life application Bible -- the one that first helped me understand the Scriptures and learn how to apply them to my life. After showing her some of its various features, she said she loved it and took it into her hands.
The whole time talking with her, all I could hear in my head was Jesus saying, Tell her about Me, tell her about Me.
So, I walked her over to a quiet corner in the Bible section and began to share Jesus with her.
After I had explained the Gospel, I began to tell her a little bit of my own story. As it turned out, she and I shared a similar struggle, and I could see that what I was saying was resonating with her. I went on to tell her about the freedom I had found in Christ, and how I now had peace and joy where there had once been anger and bitterness.
We set off across the store talking about how God's forgiveness enables us to forgive others, and how we all desperately need God's forgiveness.
I told her about how Jesus wants to come into our lives and take away the anger, bitterness and sadness, and replace it with His love, joy and peace. I told her Jesus wants her to know Him, and all she had to do was turn to Him in faith, asking for His forgiveness, and He would come into her life forever. Then I asked her if she wanted to know Jesus like I did, and she said she did.
So, right in the middle of the store on a Saturday afternoon, she asked Jesus to come into her life. When she said "Amen" and looked up at me, the anger and bitterness had disappeared from her eyes and only peace remained.
Sometimes I get discouraged when I feel like we're not making a big enough impact. But then there are days when I get to witness God change a customer's life through our ministry at LifeWay. Thankfully, these days far outweigh the others and they remind me to keep serving God faithfully in the down times knowing that our labor in the Lord is not in vain.
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EDITORIAL: El Valor De La Resurreccion De Cristo Hoy
by Rafael Gutierrez
Date: March 27, 2015 - Friday
NOTA DEL EDITOR: La columna First-Person (De primera mano) es parte de la edición de hoy de BP en español. Para ver historias adicionales, vaya a http://www.bpnews.net/espanolNecesidades de la plantación de iglesias hispanas
A nivel estatal, los hispanos representan el 9 por ciento de la población de Georgia de acuerdo a Pew Research, o alrededor de 880.000 personas. El doce por ciento de la población estudiantil de primaria y secundaria de Georgia es hispana. La edad promedio de los hispanos es de 25 años. Cuarenta y un por ciento de los hispanos menores de 17 años viven en la pobreza.
El misionero estatal de GBC Moses Valdés asesora a las iglesias hispanas; él dijo que Georgia actualmente tiene 111 congregaciones hispanas.
"La experiencia me dice que las iglesias pequeñas son las que están creciendo más rápido y por las cuales los hispanos son alcanzados más efectivamente con el evangelio," dijo Valdés, quien atribuye su observación a la cultura hispana y al valor que ellos le dan a las relaciones personales.
En el condado de Gwinnett, Ayala estima que Lawrenceville es 22 por ciento hispano, 19 por ciento de los cuales no son cristianos; su siguiente iglesia nueva será allí.
Él proyecta que el condado necesita más de ocho nuevas iglesias hoy en día. Para llenar las necesidades de la primera generación de hispanos, el condado Gwinnett andando el tiempo necesitará 25 iglesias más, dijo. Mientras tanto, para alcanzar la segunda generación de hispanos (bilingües y culturalmente asimilados), Ayala estimó que el condado necesita de 50 a 75 iglesias.
"Los hispanos en Georgia no necesitan doctorados en evangelismo, solamente gente que haya tenido un nuevo nacimiento en Cristo como el que Sam y su esposa, Luz, han experimentado, y que estén dispuestos a compartir y discipular a otros," dijo Valdés.
Aprender acerca del PC
El método de misiones cooperativas de los bautistas de Georgia se unió al entusiasmo de Ayala en un momento crítico para su familia. El ánimo y el apoyo en entrenamiento de Valdés y de GMBA se sumaron a la ayuda financiera de GBC y Envía Atlanta de NAMB ahora para sostener a su familia. Él también sirve medio tiempo como pastor asociado de la Iglesia Bautista Hebrón y dirige Hebrón Español. Su esposa, Luz, trabaja en los ministerios de Misiones y Plantación de Iglesias Interculturales de GBC.
La mayoría de lo que Ayala ha aprendido acerca del Programa Cooperativo (PC) ha venido de lo que ha experimentado desde su llegada a Georgia por fe. El PC proveyó una red segura para su llamado a la plantación y multiplicación de la iglesia.
El emprendedor plantador de iglesia continuará corriendo rápido y fuerte para comenzar iglesias con la meta de 10 dentro de cinco años. Ese crecimiento depende de la identificación de líderes dentro de cada iglesia nueva que muestre potencial y un llamado para ser pastor, un proceso que Ayala está comprometido a guiar.
Con cada iglesia convertida en "multiplicadora," su visión es nuevas iglesias hispanas no solamente en el condado Gwinnett, sino al final de cuentas en toda Norte América.
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Instalaciones de LifeWay tiene contrato
by Por el personal
Date: March 27, 2015 - Friday
NASHVILLE (BP) -- Recursos Cristianos LifeWay tiene un contrato por la venta de sus instalaciones en el centro de Nashville. Los términos del contrato, incluyendo el precio de la venta, no se revelan sino hasta el cierre de la venta en unos pocos meses, de acuerdo a un comunicado de prensa de LifeWay.
El contrato es con Uptown Nashville, LLC, un consorcio de urbanizadores locales y nacionales formado específicamente para adquirir esta propiedad.
El presidente de LifeWay y director ejecutivo Thom S. Rainer dijo en la publicación que está emocionado por las perspectivas para la propiedad además de por el futuro de LifeWay.
"Aunque los compradores todavía están finalizando el plan general para el sitio, entiendo que la intención de ellos es que sea un proyecto de uso mixto que incluirá oficinas, comercio, residencia, entretenimiento y hotel," dijo Rainer.
"Y, la venta -- cuando se complete este verano -- proveerá recursos para que LifeWay construya una nueva instalación, esperamos que en el centro de Nashville, que sustente las tecnologías, la colaboración y la cultura necesarias para el éxito del ministerio nacional e internacional de hoy y de mañana."
Janet Miller, directora ejecutiva de Colliers International, la empresa corredora que representa a Uptown Nashville, llamó el proyecto histórico.
"El replaneamiento de la instalación de LifeWay es uno de los más grandes eventos económicos de planeamiento en la historia reciente de Nashville," dijo ella.
El proyecto continuará creando trabajos e inversión en el corazón del centro de la ciudad, tanto como LifeWay lo ha hecho los pasados 120 años. Esta instalación va a ser una piedra angular en el futuro desarrollo del centro de Nashville y tiene el potencial de convertirse en una nueva entrada al distrito central de negocios."
Miller dijo que espera con ansia una continua sociedad cuando "esta valiosa propiedad sea reconfigurada y replaneada."
Rainer dijo que los compradores han dicho que Uptown Nashville "combinará el encanto arquitectónico histórico rindiéndole homenaje a las raíces de Nashville, con la más fina calidad moderna y diseño de avanzada. Ellos dieron la palabra de que la comunidad de uso mixto será ambientalmente verde, tecnológicamente avanzada y orientada al servicio."
LifeWay previamente ha reconocido que después de que se cierre la venta, van a alquilar una parte de las instalaciones hasta que el nuevo edificio esté terminado.
La venta involucra 41 hectáreas de LifeWay en el centro del complejo de Nashville, que incluye más de 93.000 metros cuadrados de oficina, bodega, y estacionamiento. Cerca de 1.100 empleados de LifeWay trabajan en las oficinas del centro y utilizan un tercio de la instalación. La organización también supervisa 186 tiendas y 4.300 empleados en 29 estados.
LifeWay comenzó un estudio de factibilidad preliminar el pasado agosto para vender su instalación y reubicarse mejor para el futuro del ministerio. La entidad fue fundada en 1891 como la Junta de Escuela Dominical de la Convención Bautista del Sur.
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Cambio cultural: preguntas para pastores e iglesias
by Por Roger S. Oldham/SBCLIFE
Date: March 27, 2015 - Friday
NASHVILLE (BP) -- En agosto de 2013, el matrimonio del mismo sexo fue legal en 13 estados y el Distrito de Columbia. Para febrero de este año, Alabama se convirtió en el 37º estado en el cual el matrimonio del mismo sexo fue declarado legal a pesar de la enmienda constitucional estatal en contra que había sido adoptada por el 81 por ciento de sus ciudadanos.
Durante este período de 18 meses, servicios de noticias como Prensa Asociada y Fox News han transmitido nuevas historias acerca de pasos que las iglesias han tomado para identificar sus creencias en relación al matrimonio del mismo sexo a la luz del rápido cambio cultural.
Algunas nuevas historias atrajeron la atención a las políticas internas esenciales: ¿Tiene la iglesia claramente articulado si le permitirá a su pastor o a otros líderes ministeriales realizar matrimonios del mismo sexo? ¿Tiene la iglesia procedimientos en el lugar para lidiar con asuntos de seguridad que podrían estar en la mira de activistas?
Otras historias enfocadas en el testimonio de la iglesia dentro de su comunidad: ¿Cómo una iglesia ministra redentoramente a toda la gente mientras al mismo tiempo mantiene una ética sexual bíblica y se adhiere al matrimonio bíblico como la unión de pacto entre un hombre y una mujer?
Los reportes también levantaron preguntas concernientes a las leyes de acomodamiento público relacionadas al edificio y terrenos de la iglesia: ¿Ha investigado la iglesia las leyes locales y estatales acerca de los grupos externos que alquilan las instalaciones de la iglesia con una variedad de propósitos, incluyendo bodas?
Con el cambiante panorama cultural a la vista, las iglesias quisieran considerar una amplia gama de preguntas.
Prácticas de la membresía y la disciplina de la iglesia
¿Tratan suficientemente las prácticas o las políticas de la membresía de su iglesia los asuntos del testimonio cristiano? ¿Están los asuntos claramente establecidos acerca de la conducta que pondría la membresía de una persona en peligro, o justificaría la intervención de alguna clase, como la disciplina de la iglesia?
Declaración de creencias bíblicas
¿Ha llegado su iglesia a un entendimiento común y lo ha adoptado acerca del concepto bíblico del matrimonio? ¿Entienden todos los miembros, líderes, voluntarios y personal la importancia de mantener un testimonio uniforme en relación a ese estándar?
El rol del pastor al determinar las políticas de las bodas
¿Es el pastor el único que decide a quiénes les realizará ceremonias de boda? Si es así, ¿están las expectativas de la congregación en cuanto a la participación del pastor en ceremonias de boda en armonía con la propia posición del pastor? ¿Podría el pastor y la gente contravenir sobre la política del matrimonio en ausencia de una declaración de fe sobre la política del matrimonio?
Políticas en cómo el edificio y sus terrenos pueden (o no pueden) ser usados
¿Tiene la iglesia claramente establecidos los lineamientos acerca del uso de las instalaciones de la iglesia y sus terrenos? ¿Ha investigado la iglesia sobre las leyes de acomodamiento público? Por ejemplo, dadas las nuevas tendencias en la ley de discriminación y su aplicación a las actividades comerciales, ¿está su iglesia involucrada en algún comercio (como rentarles a personas que no sean miembros de la iglesia u operar una escuela, una cafetería o librería) a la cual la ley de no discriminación en su jurisdicción pudiera aplicarse? ¿Debería esa actividad ser reevaluada?
Interferencia potencial de parte de los miembros de la iglesia, invitados o activistas
¿Ha pensado su iglesia, ha orado y ha sido legalmente aconsejada acerca de cuáles pasos deberían ser tomados en el caso de una participación no deseada, una interrupción, una demostración o amenaza en una actividad de la iglesia o culto?
Participación de toda la iglesia en los eventos ministeriales comunitarios
¿Ha determinado su iglesia cómo ministrará y evangelizará a personas cuyo estilo de vida esté en contra de las enseñanzas bíblicas? Por ejemplo, ¿serían los seminarios de enriquecimiento matrimonial o las clases de crianza de los hijos eventos para toda la comunidad, o diseñados para los miembros de la iglesia, o ambos?
Preguntas de seguros contra terceros
¿Está su iglesia adecuadamente cubierta por un seguro para los procedimientos legales que surjan de una alegada discriminación o difamación?
Roger S. Oldham es vicepresidente de comunicaciones y relaciones de la convención en el Comité Ejecutivo de la CBS. Este artículo apareció primero en la publicación de primavera de 2015 de SBCLIFE , publicado cinco veces al año por el Comité Ejecutivo.
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EDITORIAL: El Valor De La Resurreccion De Cristo Hoy
by Por Rafael Gutierrez
Date: March 27, 2015 - Friday
EL CAJON, Calif. (BP) -- Aprovecho esta oportunidad para que hagamos una pausa en nuestras ocupadas vidas y meditemos en el valor que tiene la resurrección de nuestro gran Señor y único Salvador Jesucristo después de Su muerte en la cruz.
Para mayor aprovechamiento le sugiero a usted mi amado lector que lea cuidadosamente las referencias bíblicas incluidas a la vez que lee este artículo, ya que, como sabemos, es la Palabra de Dios la que nos hace crecer en nuestra fe como creyentes (Ro. 10:17).
Bien, enfoquémonos entonces en tres aspectos de la resurrección de Cristo: primero, veremos la resurrección de Cristo con relación a algunas promesas de Dios para nosotros como creyentes; segundo, analizaremos el valor de la resurrección de Cristo y la dirección que da a nuestro vivir; y por último, meditaremos acerca de la resurrección de Cristo y el valor que nos da para predicar el evangelio en el día de hoy.
Hablemos primeramente de la resurrección de Cristo con relación a las promesas de Dios para el creyente. La Palabra de Dios hace énfasis en que el mensaje del evangelio debe incluir que "Cristo… resucitó al tercer día, conforme a las Escrituras" (1 Co. 15:3, 4). Tan es así que para que una persona sea salva debe creer en su corazón que Dios levantó a Cristo de los muertos (Ro. 10:9). Cada verdadero cristiano ha creído esta verdad en su mente y en su corazón: ¡Cristo vive! Lo cual luego se convierte en: ¡Cristo vive en mi! El apóstol Pablo declara esto en Efesios 3:17 al decir: "para que habite Cristo por la fe en vuestros corazones."
Aún más, la Biblia compara el nuevo nacimiento del creyente a una resurrección espiritual: "Si pues habéis resucitado con Cristo" (Ef. 2:1; Col. 3:10). A través de la resurrección de Cristo Dios nos garantiza hoy múltiples beneficios espirituales, tales como: no estar más en nuestros pecados, porque Dios los depositó en Cristo (1 Co. 15:17; Ro. 5:8; Is. 53:6); el tener seguridad de salvación y vida eterna después de la muerte (Jn. 5:24; 11:25; 17:3; Ro. 5:10; 1 Co. 15:18); y en la Segunda Venida de Cristo ser resucitados físicamente en incorrupción y transformados (1 Co. 15:51-52).
Veamos en segundo lugar que la resurrección de Cristo le da dirección y sentido a nuestro vivir. El hecho que Cristo fue resucitado de la muerte a través de la supereminente grandeza del poder del Padre (Ef. 1:19, 20), o sea, que hay vida después de esta vida, nos libera del tirano yugo del existencialismo. La filosofía existencialista tan prevalente hoy en una sociedad controlada por el consumismo y el materialismo es derrotada al ser Cristo vencedor. Su Espíritu Santo nos capacita para creer en la vida futura, y anhelar estar en Su presencia, quitando así el énfasis excesivo y negativo en el aquí y ahora. Con respecto a esto el apóstol Pablo nos amonesta diciendo: "Si, pues, habéis resucitado con Cristo, buscad las cosas de arriba, donde está Cristo sentado a la diestra de Dios. Poned la mira en las cosas de arriba, no en las de la tierra" (Col. 3:1--2).
Gracias a la fe que Dios da a través de Sus promesas los verdaderos creyentes viviremos no solo para el presente, sino también para el día futuro en que, como parte de la esposa de Cristo que es la iglesia, estaremos participando de la Cena de las Bodas del Cordero (Ap. 19:8). Así que, el creer que hay vida y vida eterna en Cristo nos da una nueva perspectiva para enfrentar los retos que esta tiene (Jn. 5:25--29). Esa experiencia es tan real que hay un antes y un después del creer, como le sucedió al apóstol Juan (ver Juan 20:5 y v.8). El creer puede hacer que nos "arda el corazón" como les aconteció a los discípulos que iban en camino a la aldea de Emaús (Lc. 24:32) y nos ayuda a ver el mundo espiritual que nos rodea más claramente.
Por último, veamos que la resurrección de Cristo nos da el valor que necesitamos para predicar el Evangelio en el día de hoy. Los Evangelios enseñan claramente que antes de la resurrección de Cristo la vida de los discípulos se caracterizó por el temor y la duda, especialmente durante el arresto, castigo y crucifixión del Señor Jesús (Mt. 26:56; Mr. 14:50; Lc. 23:49; Jn. 19:38). Sin embargo, la transformación que ellos experimentaron al comprobar con sus propios ojos la resurrección de Jesucristo ¡fue realmente radical! Lo que leemos en los Evangelios acerca de los discípulos después de la resurrección es que el valor reemplazó al temor, la certidumbre a la duda y la fe a la incredulidad (Mt. 28:17; Lc. 24:8; 33; Jn. 20:25--29). Inmediatamente después de la ascensión de Cristo a los cielos y como resultado de verle resucitado, vemos a los discípulos tomar una actitud decidida a actuar como diciendo:
¡Muy bien Señor, pondremos manos a Tu obra! (Hch. 1:12 y siguientes). En nuestros días, debido a las condiciones adversas que existen para predicar el evangelio en algunos lugares, los cristianos podemos obtener el valor que necesitamos para obedecer a Cristo al hacer nuestra la realidad gloriosa de Su promesa de nuestra resurrección: "Porque yo vivo, vosotros también viviréis" (Jn. 14:19b). Es como si hoy mismo Él estuviera diciendo esas palabras por primera vez a cualquiera de nosotros: "Yo soy la resurrección y la vida; el que cree en mí, aunque este muerto, vivirá. Y todo aquel que vive y cree en mí, no morirá eternamente. ¿Crees esto?" (Juan 11:25) Por ello, hoy más que nunca el hecho real de la resurrección, nos dará como discípulo de Cristo el gozo en el servicio del Señor.
Nos dará la confianza para obedecer y para someternos a la voluntad de nuestro Señor. Como seguidores de Cristo tengamos la meta para nuestra vida de "estar firmes y constantes, creciendo en la obra del Señor siempre, sabiendo que vuestro trabajo en el Señor no es en vano" (1 Co. 15:58). Cristo nos dijo: "Toda potestad me es dada en el cielo y en la tierra. Por tanto, ID, y haced discípulos a todas las naciones" (Mt. 28:18-19; Mt. 24:14; Mt. 28:20). Por tanto, iremos a predicar el evangelio en el poder del Espíritu Santo a donde el Señor indique (Hch. 1:8). Iremos a hacer discípulos porque Cristo nos manda, porque Él está con nosotros hasta el fin del mundo y porque nuestro Señor ¡viene pronto!
Mi apreciado Hermano en Cristo que lees, que esta ocasión de la celebración de la Resurrección de nuestro Señor Jesucristo cobre un especial significado para ti al valorar Sus promesas, al orientar correctamente tu vida, y al testificar de Cristo con valor, ¡Porque él vive!
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AVANCE 2015, Columbus, Ohio
by Por Bobby S. Sena
Date: March 27, 2015 - Friday
COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- La Convención Bautista del Sur es cada vez más diversa étnicamente. Alrededor del 20 por ciento de las iglesias de la CBS son multiétnicas; hay más de 10,000 congregaciones étnicas -- incluyendo 3,200 congregaciones hispanas.
Según la Oficina del Censo de los Estados Unidos, en el 1 de julio del 2013, la población hispana de este país aumentó a 54 millones de personas. Así, los habitantes de origen hispano constituyen la más grande minoría étnica o racial del país. Este crecimiento explosivo debe motivarnos a aliarnos para llevar a cabo un esfuerzo sin precedentes para alcanzar con el evangelio de Jesucristo a este campo misionero.
El domingo, 14 de junio del 2015, durante la semana de la Convención Bautista del Sur, los bautistas del sur hispanos se reunirán en Columbus, Ohio, para celebrar la reunión anual de AVANCE. Esta reunión se llama así porque su concepto es de avance, progreso, descubrimiento, y actualización. Eso es exactamente lo que acontecerá durante la celebración de este año, un tiempo de entablar relaciones profesionales con pastores, líderes clave, y miembros de la iglesia de toda Estados Unidos y Canadá; conferencias informativas y de entrenamiento; un desafío de parte del presidente de la CBS; y una actualización sobre la red de trabajo recientemente creada con pastores y líderes hispanos de la CBS.
El comité del programa conformado por Luis López, Jason Carlisle, Miguel López, Ramón Osorio, y Bobby Sena, se complace en anunciar que el Dr. Ronnie Floyd, pastor principal de la iglesia Cross Church y presidente de la Convención Bautista del Sur, será el orador principal en la reunión AVANCE 2015. El Dr. Ronnie Floyd es un bendecido y sin igual pastor, líder y predicador, a quien Dios está usando para que haga un llamado a nuestra Convención para ceñirse a la Gran Comisión, la unidad, la oración, y el avivamiento. No hay duda de que nuestro presidente tendrá una poderosa palabra de Dios para todos los presentes en esta reunión hispana. No se pierda esta oportunidad única de estar presente en AVANCE, y escuchar lo que Dios quiere decirnos a través del Dr. Floyd.
¡Nos vemos en Columbus, Ohio, en AVANCE, y en todas las sesiones de la CBS!
AVANCE es copatrocinado por Lifeway, NAMB, IMB, GuideStone, y el Comité Ejecutivo, y facilitado por el enlace hispano de cada una de estas agencias.